


not a partridge in a pear tree

by marshmalu (catflap)



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: 12 Days of Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Fluff, I Tried, M/M, lapslock, luhan is the town's cranky guy, sehun jongin and chanyeol are christmas carolers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:48:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28453392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/catflap/pseuds/marshmalu
Summary: 12 days of sehun trying to win his true love’s heart through christmas carols.
Relationships: Lu Han/Oh Sehun
Comments: 3
Kudos: 17
Collections: Jinglebellselu's Third Christmas





	not a partridge in a pear tree

**Author's Note:**

> a/n: listen to christmas songs while reading if you can! <3 also can we all just pretend the 12 days of christmas are december 14 to december 25? thank you so much for your cooperation. god bless

**_on the twelfth day of christmas, chanyeol sent sehun not twelve drummers drumming but a copy of christmas carols’ lyrics._ **

with eyebrows slowly furrowing, sehun scrolls thru the pdf file and gives his childhood friend slash neighbor slash seatmate for 4 years who’s grinning widely at him a confused look, “what am i looking at?”

“lyrics of christmas songs,” chanyeol states the obvious. sehun’s eyes follow him as he grabs a bag of chips from his bedside table. “i know that,” sehun groans as chanyeol settles himself on the pillows scattered all over his room’s floor. he stares back at the screen, “what am i supposed to do with this?” 

chanyeol tears the pack open and pops one chip into his mouth, the cracking sound of it echoing in the confines of sehun’s room, “memorize all of them.”

sehun is looking at chanyeol funny now, “for what?” and just by looking at the glint in his friend’s eyes, sehun already gets his answer. he’s already gotten the hint right from the start to be honest, right from the moment chanyeol barged into his room with a huge smile on his face and his sticker-filled guitar case slung over his shoulder. the stupid glint was just the confirmation. chanyeol is as transparent as a glass, anyway; his actions always give away what goes inside his mind, he can’t lie to save his life, and he’s incapable of hiding his emotions. sehun sometimes worries this might make people take advantage of his friend but maybe that’s the reason why god made them inseparable literally since they were born—they have to protect each other. 

“no way,” sehun says in disbelief. 

every christmas, it has always been chanyeol’s family’s tradition to go from house to house and sing christmas carols at each of them. it has been going on for more than 10 years now and it’s no surprise that it lasted that long because chanyeol’s family is a home of talented musicians and singers. every year, all of the people in their little town anticipate the parks’ christmas carols. well, except for one person.

luhan.

slash the “crankiest” guy in town who always turns his lights off whenever he hears the familiar voices and guitar strums.

and slash the love of sehun’s life.

“we’re planning to include luhan’s house this year,” chanyeol announces and although sehun has already gathered that, he still feels his stomach flip. “and i want you to be a part of it.” another flip. chanyeol ignores the horrified expression on his friend’s face and places the bag of chips on the floor. he sits up straight and crosses his arms on his chest, “okay, let me hear the excuses. make sure they’re good.”

sehun rolls his eyes, “i can’t play any instruments?”

chanyeol laughs, “it’s a tambourine, sehun.”

“damn.” sehun racks his brain for another excuse, “i’m not a part of your family?”

chanyeol gets offended by that, “that’s the worst excuse you’ve ever said your entire life. your family is literally also my family, what are you talking about.” 

he’s right. sehun sighs in defeat, “i’ve run out of excuses.” and while that’s true, there’s actually also a very big part of sehun that wants to do it.

chanyeol smiles triumphantly and squeezes sehun’s shoulder, “thank you! you won’t regret it!”

“do we really have to include luhan’s house, though? doesn’t he hate it? i don’t want to ruin his holiday…” the last part came out as a murmur but chanyeol hears all of it still. “oh, i promise you, sehun, it’s going to be the opposite. don’t you want to properly introduce yourself to him? since you guys had a really… rocky start.” 

“oh, god, stop reminding me.”

the door slams open, “maybe if you didn’t make vivi poop right in front of his house he wouldn’t hate you the way he does right now.” sehun groans for the second time that day at the sight of his cousin slash dancing buddy slash pain in the ass standing at the door frame. “why are you here?”

“i literally live here,” jongin says before entering sehun’s room, almost tripping on chanyeol’s guitar case along the process. he plops beside chanyeol, dips his hand in the bags of chips, and throws a huge chunk into his mouth, adding more noise to chanyeol’s chewing sounds. “what are you guys up to?”

sehun sighs and lets his body fall to his bed as chanyeol tells jongin everything. he closes his eyes, his mind unconsciously taking him back to the day he first met luhan—a day he likes and hates at the same time. he remembers everything so vividly; from the shirt luhan was wearing to the way his expression changed the moment he realized what sehun’s dog just did in front of his house. when their eyes locked, sehun swears, the world came to a halt—just like in the movies and novels. it was like getting punched in the face. but in the most beautiful way ever. and somehow, sehun couldn’t take his eyes away from the man in a cute iron man shirt who was cursing him and his dog both in korean and mandarin.

“look at him smiling like an idiot in his sleep,” he hears jongin speak, bringing him back to reality. chanyeol’s chuckle follows right after, “shh, let him be. it’s cute.” he, then, hears shuffling noises followed by several footsteps, “so, see you both in the rehearsal tomorrow?”

“aye, captain,” he hears jongin say, before the door finally shuts.

**_on the eleventh day of christmas, chanyeol gave sehun not eleven piper piping but two tambourines—one for sehun and one for jongin._ **

sehun’s not the nervous, jittery type. he’s always been calm regardless of the situation he’s in. but today, for some reason, his heart feels like it’s going to explode anytime soon. he’s not even going to face luhan yet—today is just the rehearsal—but the thought of him standing in a close proximity to the love of his life whom he’s been pining over for more than 5 years now but never really pursued already makes his stomach churn. it’s new, this feeling. and it’s kind of nice, actually. sehun likes the combination of thrill and tension he’s experiencing right now. it makes him feel _alive_.

“you look like you need to scream or else you’ll disintegrate into tiny little pieces like legos and make people trip on you one by one,” jongin comments as he hands sehun his clear book containing all the songs they’ll be performing for the next 10 days. 

sehun skims through the pages, “i’ll make sure you’re the first one who trips.”

jongin forces a laugh, “funny.” he occupies the seat next to sehun, “you should consider being a comedian.” when he doesn’t get a response from sehun, something that is very unlikely of him, jongin closes his clear book and places it on his lap. “hey, you okay? i wasn’t lying. you really look like you’re gonna explode anytime.”

sehun does the same, “yeah. just nervous.”

“fuck,” jongin says in amusement, his eyes twinkling and teeth showing. “you’re really in love, huh?”

sehun doesn’t have any idea. love seems like a strong word. but if his willingness to give up everything in a heartbeat just to see luhan break into that breathtaking smile of his every single day is considered love, then maybe he is. hopelessly.

chanyeol’s dad enters the room, he’s holding a stick in one hand, a clear book in the other, “you guys ready?”

sehun sure is.

**_on the tenth day of christmas, sehun’s true love gave them not ten lords a-leaping but a loud slam of the door._ **

the first performance was a little awkward, particularly on sehun and jongin’s side. chanyeol couldn’t help but glance at the two from time to time, worried that making them join was a terrible idea and was too much. however, by the fourth house, sehun and jongin finally got out of their shells, both smiling widely, and chanyeol was more than happy that they got the hang of it immediately and that they were actually having the time of their lives. that’s what he really wanted anyway—for them to just have a good time while making other people happy.

“why are they leaving?”

they’ve just finished performing at the fourteenth house now and sehun wonders why the hell are they already packing up. “there’s one more house left?” he tries to remind them, just in case the fact that luhan’s house is next just slipped out of their minds.

“i thought it would be better if only the three of us would do it first,” chanyeol admits.

“what do you mean three?” jongin nervously laughs. “who’s the other one?”

chanyeol ignores jongin and turns to sehun, “i just thought it might overwhelm luhan if we’d go there full-force.” he scratches the back of his neck, “sorry for not telling you.”

of course he wouldn’t tell him. if he did, sehun would definitely not participate anymore. heck, he wouldn’t even leave his bed. “no, you’re not.”

chanyeol’s smile is so bright.

“hello? who’s the other one?” jongin asks again, trying to catch the other two’s attention by waving his hand in the air.

chanyeol adjusts his guitar strap and pulls sehun’s shoulder lightly, “come on, let’s get you a boyfriend.” then, he faces jongin. “what are you waiting for, number three?”

-

it’s making jongin and chanyeol sad, the way luhan’s door has a paper saying “no one’s here!” plastered on it. sehun, however, thinks it’s the most adorable thing in the world because luhan’s obviously inside, baking what sehun believes are cookies. or not. he’s not sure but whatever they are, they smell very good.

“i don’t think this is a good idea,” jongin says.

chanyeol tries to peek through the window but to no avail, “i mean, it wouldn’t hurt to try?”

there are two wolves inside sehun, except they’re not really inside him. they’re out in the open, alive, and are literally standing right in front of him right now, both anticipating his decision.

much to jongin’s chagrin, this time, chanyeol wins.

well, it’s now or never. the moment chanyeol releases the first strum, sehun gives everything up to god, mentally crossing his fingers as he waits for their cue to sing. 

sehun has never appreciated the lyrics of all i want for christmas is you until this very moment. mariah carey is correct, he sure as hell doesn’t want a lot for christmas. there is just one thing he needs. 

and, as if on cue, the door opens, revealing the person sehun was thinking about all night. his heart swells at the sight before him; luhan is wearing a baby blue apron with a deer patched on it and mittens that match it.

oh, mariah, this is exactly the one thing that he needs.

“can’t you all read?”

that snaps sehun back to reality. only to go back to his dreamy state in a matter of seconds. how can someone be this cute even when they’re obviously mad? how is this possible? how does he do it?

upon noticing sehun’s current state, chanyeol decides to step up instead, “oh, hey! merry christmas!” he greets, a little too enthusiastic for luhan’s liking. little does he know, that’s just how chanyeol is whenever he gets nervous. and chanyeol is like the group’s powerhouse, so to see him all tensed up like this for sure also makes sehun and jongin sweat.

“there’s nothing merry about christmas,” are the last words luhan has left before he takes a step back and slams the door in their faces.

“damn.”

this might be a little harder than chanyeol had expected.

**_on the ninth day of christmas, sehun’s true love gave him not nine ladies dancing but a worse version of the night before._ **

last night was definitely not what they expected. sure, they knew luhan was scary, but they never thought he would be _that_ scary. but it was just the beginning and beginnings are not always easy. this will take time. and no matter how long that might be, there’s no stopping sehun. in fact, the bumpy start just ignited the fire inside him more.

also, despite the total disaster last night, sehun still got to see luhan in a very cute apron so maybe it wasn’t that bad after all. 

“what makes you guys think he will listen to us this time?” jongin whines after they’ve bid chanyeol’s relatives goodbye. “tell me because i really can’t come up with anything.”

“we’re going to sing mistletoe this time.”

“so?”

chanyeol grins, “no one hates that song.”

“i do, though?” jongin announces, sounding a little bit offended for some reason. “he’s too desperate for a kiss.”

sehun snorts, “as someone who wrote a poem about kyungsoo’s lips back in junior high, i don’t think you get to say that.”

that seems to strike a nerve. “fuck you!” he hits sehun with his tambourine, “that’s different!”

chanyeol laughs so hard, the memory finally getting clearer in his head, “dude, the title of your poem was literally _kiss please_ how is that different?”

“can we just sing the damn song already?” jongin begs before his friends can even recite the whole thing. “please?”

“okay,” sehun says, preventing himself from going through another round of laughter with chanyeol. he stands straight, “let’s do this.”

however, before chanyeol can even play the guitar, the door swings open and reveals a luhan that is happily playing with the cat in his arms, completely unaware of the three figures at his doorway.

that knocks the air out of sehun’s lungs. justin bieber was right. this is definitely the most beautiful time of the year. and luhan’s candid smile is the most beautiful smile he’s ever seen.

it quickly vanishes, though, and sehun regrets not taking a photo of it.

it’s almost funny, the way how fast all of it happened. one second, luhan was smiling, the second, he had the same disappointed look he had last night, and the next, the door was slammed in their faces again. 

it was almost like deja vu, except this time it’s worse. unlike last night, this time they didn’t get to mutter a single word—not even an oh or an ah—the door slam is also louder, and the disappointment on his face is much evident.

but, just like last night, sehun has gotten another glimpse of the luhan behind this door again. the real luhan. the luhan he wants to know. the one he wants to _meet_. and if what it takes for that to happen is a night by night christmas serenade by his doorstep then so be it.

**_on the eighth day of christmas, sehun’s true love gave him not eight maids a-milking but..._ **

sehun has never seen an actual rainbow his whole life, but he believes that after every storm it follows right after—just like how every meal ends with a dessert and how every day ends with a sunrise. and last night was a shitstorm. so if this night’s carol ends up just as bad as the previous ones, then screw the universe.

“i like the song tonight,” jongin giggles. “ariana is dope. if we still get another door slam tonight, i swear, i’ll start to think luhan is a psychopath or something.”

“you think so?” sehun says, his palms cupping both his cheeks.

“dude, it’s ariana grande.”

sehun shrugs, rubbing his palms together, “i don’t really trust your taste.”

jongin gives him the stink eye, “you know, i was actually planning to give you my coat because i didn’t want luhan to see you shivering like a vibrator but i’ve changed my mind. i think you deserve to freeze to death.”

chanyeol tries to give sehun a little warmth by rubbing his arm, “i’d give you my sweater but i don’t think the whole neighborhood would love to see my naked form.” he laughs apologetically, “sorry, sehun.”

“i’d love to see your naked form,” jongin says, wiggling his eyebrows in the process, a gesture that instantly sends goosebumps all over chanyeol’s body. sometimes he thinks jongin should just not speak. he always says the most unexpected shit and no one can ever be prepared for it. “just kidding,” jongin chuckles. “i’ve already seen it.” see?

by the time they reach luhan’s doorstep, sehun is already desperately hugging himself. he can stand the cold temperature, but a cold temperature combined with the thrill and nervousness brought by the thought of meeting luhan again is a different story.

chanyeol strums the guitar.

_santa, tell me if you’re really there._

_santa, tell me if he really cares._

it’s too damn cold. sehun hopes luhan mistakes the quivering of his voice for a vibrato because if he doesn’t, that will be very embarrassing and sehun will definitely never forgive himself for not bringing his jacket with him tonight. sehun tightens his embrace around himself, mentally praying that luhan is not on the other side of the door laughing at him, and focuses on the lyrics of the song.

then he realizes something.

for the first time in history, they’ve reached the chorus of the song.

chanyeol and jongin both have a very surprised expression on their faces when sehun turns to face them. they’re both just as shocked as him. jongin stops singing along momentarily and looks at sehun, “what did i tell you? what did i tell you?” typical jongin. he can rub the fact that he’s right in sehun’s face all he wants, sehun doesn’t really care. he’s too happy to do so.

he cannot wrap his head around the fact that the rainbow bullshit he was spouting earlier, something that he actually only did because he wanted to cheer himself up, turns out to be real. this is it—the rainbow after the storm, and sehun feels like jumping out of joy because this means there’s a chance. no matter how small it may be, he has a chance.

and, as if the fact that luhan is actually listening to them and letting them sing isn’t enough, the door swings open and sehun gets a fuzzy lavender thing thrown right at his face, the sudden action making their performance come to a halt (much to jongin’s dismay).

sehun blinks at the thing in his hand, mind still dizzy due to the impact. 

and then it dawns on the three of them.

_sehun’s true love gave him not eight maids a-milking but a fuzzy lavender sweater._

thank you, santa. turns out, he cares.

**_on the seventh day of christmas, sehun’s cousin gave him not seven swans a-swimming but an unsolicited advice._ **

unsurprisingly, luhan’s sweater is too small for sehun. and although sehun had already seen that coming, he still cannot help but coo at how small luhan’s frame is. sehun starts to wonder how it will feel like to keep him in his arms, the mere thought making his cheeks turn pink and his tummy twist in euphoria.

how can love make someone feel like they’re 17 again.

“where’s the sweater, by the way?” chanyeol questions after jongin brought up last night. after the sweater incident, jongin and chanyeol didn’t let sehun live on the way home. and even until he reached his room, the teasing never stopped, courtesy of his cousin, of course. making sehun’s life miserable is that man’s day job.

“home. i thought i’d clean it before returning it to him,” sehun replies, mouth full of ramen. they’ve decided to eat for a while before going to luhan’s house as a mini celebration for their victory last night.

“you didn’t even wear it, what’s there to clean?” jongin sips the remaining soup of his ramen and places the bowl back on the table. “just say that you want to keep it longer with you and go. we’re already used to it.”

“i want to keep it longer with me,” sehun says flatly. sometimes jongin is annoying. most of the time he’s _more than_ annoying. “happy?”

jongin chuckles, “wasn’t that hard, was it?” he taps sehun’s shoulder with his chopstick, “you should do that more often, you know. speaking your mind.”

“what do you mean? i speak my mind. i just told you yesterday that i didn’t like your taste.”

jongin deadpans, hoping sehun will understand what he’s trying to say through the intensity of his gaze, “you know what i mean.”

“you guys done?” chanyeol asks after he comes back from the bathroom. he’s completely oblivious of the situation, and sehun is more than grateful he returned at the right time because frankly, he doesn’t know what jongin means. “let’s go?” chanyeol receives two curt nods in return.

“what are we singing tonight again?” jongin asks as they walk through the bright streets of the neighborhood. the set of songs they perform when they’re with chanyeol’s family are always the same but for some reason, when it comes to luhan, they never repeat a song. like ever. therefore, jongin’s confusion is just valid.

“feliz navidad,” chanyeol giggles because hey, that’s his favorite christmas song right there. that’s his jam. before jongin can even ask what the hell chanyeol finds so interesting in such a repetitive song like feliz navidad, sehun pulls both of their hands all of a sudden and stops them in their tracks.

“what?” 

both chanyeol and jongin turn to where sehun is currently looking at and gasp exaggeratedly.

luhan is outside his house, looking for something. sehun wonders what it is, and when their eyes meet, the twinkling christmas lights scattered all over their town illuminating his face, it hits him. 

he’s looking for _them_. it’s written all over his face. there’s a combination of panic and relief; panic because he just got caught and relief because they came. they’re here.

it’s luhan who breaks eye contact, suddenly feeling intimidated and embarrassed. he turns around so fast, making sehun run, chanyeol and jongin following right after him, “wait!”

much to sehun’s surprise, luhan stops and faces them. slowly.

sehun finds it adorable how luhan suddenly cannot look at him straight in the eye as they catch their breaths. who would have thought the “crankiest” guy in town has this side? and sehun gets to see it? what in the world, sehun thinks, a sense of pride suddenly bubbling inside his chest.

“how long have you been waiting?” sehun says in between deep breaths, both hands on his knees like jongin and chanyeol. 

“i’m not—” luhan tries to deny only to just give up in a matter of seconds. he sighs, “only 10 minutes.” his voice was too soft for chanyeol and jongin but loud enough for sehun to hear. 

god, sehun wants to kiss him so bad.

“what?”

“what?”

“what did you say?”

“what did i say?”

“you said you wanted to kiss me.” his gaze falls on the floor, “so bad.”

“oh.” sehun looks at everywhere but luhan, “yeah, i do.”

sehun sees black and white stars when the door hits him on the face.

well. maybe speaking his mind was a bad idea after all. screw jongin and his unsolicited advice about how he should run his life.

but holy shit, why did it feel so good? satisfying even? it’s like a bullet was extracted from his chest, one that he had been keeping for a very long time. and he feels like he’s going to explode anytime soon.

he’s usually good at holding everything in. heck, he’s been doing it for more than 5 years already; jongin sometimes tells him he should receive an award. but look at him now—just one look from luhan and he was already about to drop everything. he doesn’t know if it’s luhan’s big sparkly eyes looking up at him, the christmas air surrounding them, or jongin’s words that made something shift in him—maybe it’s all three—but suddenly, he feels like conquering the world.

and then offering it to luhan right after.

he hears chanyeol groan in the background, “we didn’t get to sing my jam.”

**_on the sixth day of christmas, sehun’s true love gave him not six geese a-laying but an invitation._ **

sehun doesn’t know where all this confidence is coming from but this morning, when he woke up, he had a feeling that today was going to be a really good day. he must be going crazy because he really believes luhan slamming the door in his face right after he dropped the bomb is a good sign. he sees it as a spark of hope.

god, he really hit his head, huh.

“if we still don’t get to sing feliz navidad tonight, i swear, i will really throw a fit,” chanyeol announces as they walk to luhan’s house. “throw a fit?” jongin echoes. “how old are you again?”

“you don’t understand, jongin,” chanyeol barks. “it’s my favorite christmas song.”

“still don’t get why you like it but okay,” jongin surrenders. there’s no point in arguing with chanyeol, not when he’s the one in-charge with the guitar. he changes the topic, “do you guys think luhan will show up tonight?”

“yes,” sehun hears himself say. jongin arches an eyebrow, “what makes you so sure? he literally slammed the door in your face.”

“exactly,” sehun retorts. “he slammed the door in my face.”

“the fuck is that even supposed to mean?” jongin cries. he then turns to chanyeol and whispers, “should we send sehun to the doctor? i think he hit his head real bad.”

“no need,” chanyeol replies, his eyes fixated somewhere and when jongin follows what he’s looking at, his jaw drops to the ground.

luhan is waiting for them again. with a smile on his face.

what the fuck is happening?

“i told you,” he hears sehun say before he runs to luhan’s door.

“hey,” sehun greets when he reaches luhan’s doorstep, towering over luhan’s smaller figure. not that luhan’s complaining. luhan looks up at him, the christmas lights making his eyes sparkle despite the darkness. he beams, “hey.”

somewhere in the background jongin and chanyeol are grumbling about how the two are stuck in their own world again, just like yesterday; but they’re happy for their friend. jongin’s a little bit mad he can’t hear their conversation, though.

“i’m sorry for last night. i didn’t mean to slam the door in your face.” so that’s what he’s been meaning to say. the minute he saw luhan, sehun had already sensed he was going to say something and this is it—an apology. “and also for the other nights.”

sehun wants to yell. because luhan doesn’t have to say sorry. it’s not his fault. if anything, it’s sehun who has to apologize because between them, he’s the one disturbing luhan’s peace every night. he shakes his head, “it’s fine. i deserved it.”

“it’s not fine,” luhan responds too quickly, much to sehun’s amusement. “and you definitely didn’t deserve it.” he takes one step closer, “did it hurt?”

sehun wants to yell again; not because he’s frustrated but because luhan is so fucking close and he’s so beautiful under the lights that it’s making him dizzy. “no! not at all.”

“sure?”

“yeah,” sehun manages to say, suddenly finding it hard to breathe.

luhan gives him a small smile again and then shifts his eyes to the people behind sehun, “do you guys want to go inside?”

jongin’s eyes widened at that, “like inside your house?”

“yes, we do!” chanyeol answers enthusiastically, dragging jongin along with him before he can even say something that can make everything go wrong.

jongin gives sehun a questioning look while they are entering and sehun just shrugs at him. he doesn’t know what’s happening too. but he likes where this is going.

luhan’s house gives away everything about luhan. one can already tell what kind of person he is just by looking around his house. sehun takes note of everything slowly; he has a cat, his favorite color is probably beige, he likes to bake, and he loves iron man—judging by the array of iron man figures carefully placed on the shelf above his television.

turns out the “cranky guy” isn’t cranky at all.

“cookies?” luhan offers, placing the plate on the small table in the middle of the living room, catching the three’s attention. he doesn’t even have to ask.

jongin moans once the taste hits his taste buds while chanyeol’s eyes widen, “this is so good?” and sehun wholeheartedly agrees. just when he thought he couldn’t fall for luhan even more.

luhan sits on the couch across from them, “i’m glad you liked it.”

and then, out of the blue, jongin drops a bomb. “why do you hate christmas?”

“jongin—”

“no, it’s fine,” luhan assures them, making sehun relax on his seat. “i knew someone would ask that. he chuckles, “it’s not that i hate christmas. it’s just that...“ he pauses, trying to find the right words. “i started to lose the excitement over the years? since i always just spent it with my cat. it’s just a normal day to me. and seeing other people being all happy and giddy during christmas somehow makes me feel a little bit envious,” he laughs.

but sehun doesn’t find it funny at all.

luhan panics at the way the three are looking at him right now and waves his hand in front of them, “hey, stop looking at me like that! i’m fine!”

it all makes sense now.

“seriously, i’m fine,” luhan chuckles. “besides,” he finds sehun’s eyes and beams. “i have you guys now, right?”

sehun feels his cheeks go warm.

luhan stands up to get the empty plate on the table and gives them a threatening look, “you can’t refuse, by the way, you guys did this to yourself.”

chanyeol laughs, “that didn’t even cross my mind.” and jongin follows after, “only if i’ll get more cookies.”

and when luhan glances at him, sehun gives him the softest smile ever, hoping his words will get to luhan through the little gesture. and they did. because luhan smiled back and mouthed the words ‘thank you’ to him before going back to his kitchen.

chanyeol gasps all of a sudden.

he still didn’t get to sing his jam.

**_on the fifth day of christmas, sehun’s true love did not give him five golden rings. and chanyeol still did not get to sing his jam._ ** **_  
  
_**

because they’ve decided to invite luhan to go gift-shopping today.

“it’s been such a long time since i last did this,” luhan unconsciously mumbles as he lets his eyes wander through the aisles of the mall. sehun smiles beside him, carefully pushing their cart that’s still empty—the exact opposite of chanyeol and jongin’s. “when was the last time you went christmas shopping?”

luhan stops to think, counting how many years it has been. “7 years ago? or 8? i’m not sure.”

“are you serious?”

luhan laughs, “yeah. i don’t really have many people to buy gifts for since most of my family and friends are in beijing.” he faces sehun with a playful grin on his face, “but three people suddenly forced their way into my life this year so…”

sehun chuckles loudly at that, making a few people turn their heads to his direction. but sehun doesn’t mind. it’s fine, they can look. they can look at how happy he is. they can look at how luhan makes sehun forget how to malfunction as a human-being when he goes closer to him and asks him if jongin or chanyeol would like the clothing he’s holding up. they can look at the way luhan gives sehun an adorable, irresistible, pleading look whenever there’s something he finds interesting but cannot reach. they can and _have_ to, so sehun knows it’s real and not just a figment of his imagination. so he knows that he’s not the only one seeing this. 

so sehun can confirm that luhan indeed has his hand in his.

“happy?” sehun asks after they pay for everything.

luhan is the most beautiful when he smiles, sehun observes. “very.”

**_on the fourth day of christmas, chanyeol’s family gave luhan not four calling birds but the best christmas carol performance ever._ **

luhan finally decides to watch chanyeol’s family’s performance. 

chanyeol was very careful when he asked, unsure if it was already the right time, and much to their delight, it was; his cheeks protruding when he gave him a small nod. a mission accomplished for chanyeol. they finally get to perform in front of the “cranky” guy of their town who apparently isn’t cranky at all, the exact opposite even. luhan has the biggest heart ever, it just takes time and effort before he lets someone in. and that’s just normal and valid. all people build walls to protect themselves. and it makes them swell with pride that despite how huge luhan’s walls are, he let them in; not just in his house, but also in his life.

luhan has a huge smile on his face as he watches them. sometimes he claps and sings along, but most of the time his full attention is on sehun, his eyes oozing with wonder, fascination, and admiration and sehun conceals the explosions he feels inside under a small smile.

no words needed. as always.

luhan really doesn’t know the effect he has on sehun.

but, little does sehun know, luhan feels the same.

**_on the third day of christmas, sehun’s true love gave him not three french hens but a night he would never forget._ **

when they finished performing, chanyeol had a huge smile on his face; because finally, after 500 years, he got to perform his feliz navidad. in the middle of packing their things up, sehun asked jongin and chanyeol if they could go home first and the two disappeared in an instant, as if they had been waiting for that since forever. sehun almost felt offended but he realized that the two just probably wanted to give them more time together. that was a once in a lifetime moment, anyway. and thank the heavens, luhan didn’t mind that he stayed.

both of them are on luhan’s couch now, the space between them slowly evaporating into thin air as the movie goes on. but let’s be honest, both of them are not really paying attention to the television. sehun’s too distracted by the smell of luhan’s shampoo and the way he shifts in his seat from time to time. and, no offense to home alone, but watching luhan through his peripheral vision is far more entertaining.

“sehun,” luhan says all of a sudden, his eyes still trained on the film. sehun doesn’t hesitate to grab that as an excuse for him to finally look at luhan and not just through his peripheral vision. “yeah?”

luhan caresses his thigh, “do you still want to kiss me,” and finally faces him, “so bad?”

luhan tastes like strawberries. kissing him feels like lying on clouds, like tasting rainbows, like home; and sehun loves every part of it. he cups his jaws to deepen the kiss, exploring the parts of luhan he’s never met before, welcoming them with open arms and luhan does the same, his fingers running through sehun’s hair. there’s impatience but their rhythm is slow—like floating in outer space—just slow enough for sehun to take in every detail, every move.

sehun feels luhan smile through the kiss before they part to breathe. they stare at each other for a while, taking their time to absorb what just happened, and then they both suddenly break into laughter.

“i knew you weren’t watching the movie, too!” luhan chuckles, cheeks pink, his hand reaching for sehun’s hair in an attempt to fix the mess he’s responsible for. sehun stays on his spot and lets him, taking the opportunity to stare at luhan’s face while he’s pre-occupied on his hair, “can you blame me? you were too distracting.”

“ah, so it’s my fault,” luhan jokes.

sehun grins, “yeah. make it up to me.”

“i just fixed your hair, though,” luhan pouts. sehun thinks he’s doing it on purpose. and it’s working. he grabs luhan’s arms and encircles it around his neck. “i like my hair messy.”

luhan turns off the television.

**_on the second day of christmas, sehun’s true love gave him not two turtle doves but an uno reverse card._ **

when the three of them arrive in front of luhan’s door, luhan is already there. sehun eyes him from head to toe; he’s wearing a christmas hat, wearing a red sweater, and has a guitar in his hand.

as sehun takes his time to process what the hell is happening, jongin and chanyeol leave his side to stand beside luhan, both preventing themselves from laughing at how flabbergasted sehun looks right now.

luhan grins and starts to strum the guitar, jongin and chanyeol shortly following after.

_i don’t want a lot for christmas_

_there is just one thing i need_

no way.

“you’ve got to be kidding me,” sehun says, trying so hard not to look too happy but to no avail. luhan is so fucking cute and his voice is so soft, so him. sehun hears himself laugh hard 30 seconds into the song, not because it’s funny but because he’s just so _happy_. never in his life did he imagine that he would get serenaded by the man he had been serenading for days. luhan just gave him the uno reverse card. and for the first time in his life, sehun doesn’t mind being the loser.

“what do you think?” luhan approaches him quickly after they finish the song. “do i have what it takes to be a new member of your band?”

sehun chuckles, “i didn’t know you could sing.” he squeezes luhan’s hands in his and finds his eyes, “you were so good, lu. better than all of us combined.” sehun hears protests coming from jongin and chanyeol but pretends he doesn’t, eyes never leaving luhan’s. 

“you’re exaggerating,” luhan pushes him slightly. “thanks.”

jongin yells in the background, “uh, can you guys do it fast!? there’s a few minutes left before christmas.” 

“don’t listen to him! take your time!” chanyeol adds after.

sehun and luhan laugh at the same time at that and then turn to each other again, their gazes at each other more intense this time. luhan starts, “do i really have to spell it out for you? i think you already know what i’m about to say.”

of course sehun does, but he still wants to hear it. he smiles innocently, “no. i don’t understand what’s happening at all.”

luhan rolls his eyes, but there’s a smile on his face. “you’re so annoying sometimes.” he sighs, “can you do it first?” 

sehun laughs, “but you already know how much i love you. i’ve loved you since the moment you cursed me in korean and mandarin. and i’m not planning to stop anytime soon.” he tucks luhan’s hair behind his ear, “even if you curse me again.”

luhan feels like he’s going to cry anytime soon, still not used to the feeling of being appreciated, of being loved; so before he can even break down in public, he gives sehun a quick kiss and takes a deep breath. “i love you so much, sehun. i’m not really good at words but i want you to know that i’m so in love with you and this is so, so scary to me, but the fact that it’s you who i’ll be doing this with is already an enough reason for me to take a step.” he looks up at sehun, eyes glassy, “everything felt so fast, but it feels so right.”

“so, sehun...”

**_and finally on the first day of christmas,_ **

sehun’s true love gave his heart to him.

**_fin._ **

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> really thought i wouldn't be able to finish this but weee i did it! barely! lmao thank you so much for reading ;_; and happy holidays! <3


End file.
